We often explore how fintechs are changing the banking and payments landscapes, and sometimes look into how their solutions are supporting financial inclusion and helping people develop healthy financial habits. But to kick off 2025, we’re placing a focus on ‘fintech for good’ to find out exactly how much impact fintechs are having – both positively and negatively.
Traditionally, fintechs are known for their agility, innovation and ability to disrupt traditional financial systems. Unlike traditional banks and financial service providers, which are often constrained by legacy systems and processes, fintechs are often more flexible – enabling them to quickly build solutions that better support underserved communities.
However, the broader financial ecosystem still relies on traditional players, who remain the most influential and trusted organisations in finance. With this in mind, is it possible for fintechs to influence these traditional players to place more emphasis on inclusivity? To find out, we reached out to fintech experts.
The ‘holy trinity of ESG excuses’
“A better financial services industry starts with a braver one,” explains Monika Liikamaa, co-founder and co-CEO of Enfuce. “Fintechs are defined by our innovation, our ability to move more quickly and take bolder, braver actions in ways that traditional financial institutions can’t. Banks justify their inability to be brave on key issues of ESG by using the ‘holy trinity of ESG excuses’: compliance, budget, and security. Each of these excuses sounds different, but they all say the same thing – ‘not us, not yet, not us’.
Monika Liikamaa, co-founder and co-CEO of Enfuce
“Traditional financial institutions use the holy trinity of ESG excuses to justify keeping their profit safe from purpose. Simply put, they have the capability; they lack the courage. But the financial sector isn’t just about numbers, algorithms, and transactions. It’s about touching lives, addressing some of the world’s greatest injustices, and leveraging technology for the greater good.
“By failing to tackle key issues of our time, like climate change, inclusivity, and sustainable growth, the traditional financial sector is simply surrendering their future to bolder players who see a simple truth: sustainable banking isn’t just right, it’s good business. Once banks see that other players, most likely to be fintechs, who take bold action on ESG not only succeed in their mission, but find significant commercial success, the whole industry will start to wake up and smell the coffee.”
Collaboration is key
Huw Davies, co-founder and CEO of Ozone API, details the importance of collaboration: “The fintech industry perhaps started with a vision of David vs Goliath; with plucky fintechs taking on the big traditional banks. The reality, however, is very different. It’s an industry of collaboration and partnership between fintechs and traditional banks. Banks see fintechs as important allies to help them accelerate innovation and more effectively serve underserved segments.
Huw Davies, co-founder and CEO at Ozone API
“Open finance has been laying the foundations to enable fintech innovation to accelerate and extend way beyond what we’ve seen before. Secure, consent-based data-sharing and real-time account-to-account payment initiation redefine the art of the possible.
“On a global scale, we’re seeing banks and fintechs leverage this opportunity to better serve underserved segments. For example, take a small merchant in Latin America who might deal in cash almost exclusively because card payments are expensive and settlement takes too long. Open banking reduces these transaction costs and accelerates settlement times, allowing merchants to move away from cash reliance, increasing safety and generating a transaction history for the merchant, thereby creating opportunities for them to access credit to grow their business.
“In fact, access to credit is arguably the biggest way banks can improve inclusivity. Open banking can help individuals, especially gig workers in high-growth economies like the Middle East, to help demonstrate their transaction history, showing incoming, outgoings and regular payments more quickly. Using alternative data sources removes the dependency on ‘credit history; and means banks can carry out faster and higher quality risk assessment and affordability analysis, expanding access to financing for those
with limited banking backgrounds.
“Additionally, developing customised financial products, improving financial literacy, upgrading digital infrastructure, and partnering with local communities are also vital strategies that banks can employ.”
Making progress with AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to revolutionise industries, but can its impact also drive inclusivity?
Meri Williams, CTO at Pleo
Meri Williams, CTO at Pleo, believes it can, so long as it is used carefully: “Fintechs are known for their role in technological innovation, and as part of this, they’ve highlighted the great potential tech has in improving inclusivity. This means that they can play a key role in showcasing these benefits to traditional financial service providers, which can typically be slower to adapt. Also, the agile culture fintechs foster means they can try out new tech solutions to increase inclusivity to see whether they’re fit for purpose, sharing findings with the wider sector.
“For instance, when it comes to hiring, there are gender decoders that can remove the gender bias from job ads that we might not even be aware was there to begin with. This can help address the difference in gender response to job applications and level the playing field for applicants.
“AI is also showing great potential, sifting CVs to find the best candidates for required roles. However, it’s important to remember that while technology can bring advantages to improving diversity, it shouldn’t replace humans. For example, it shouldn’t determine who we hire off the back of an info dump from CVs. Technology, AI particularly, can develop biases based on the person or business that created it, so it should only be used alongside a human who can ensure fair decisions are being made.”
Harnessing smarter regulations
“Fintechs are in a prime position to drive change, but they need to be strategic about how they approach it,” adds Philipp Buschmann, co-founder and CEO of fintech AAZZUR. “Regulation is one of the most powerful tools we have, but it’s a double-edged sword., Regulation can kill innovation.
Philipp Buschmann, CEO at AAZZUR
“While it can help set standards and hold traditional providers accountable, it can also create significant challenges for smaller fintechs trying to grow and innovate.
“This is why we need smarter, more focused regulations. Blanket policies often favour larger corporations, as they have the resources to navigate compliance. For smaller fintechs, these same rules can become roadblocks. A sandbox approach, where smaller companies can test and develop solutions without the weight of full regulatory compliance, is essential. It gives them the freedom to innovate while still maintaining accountability.
“Fintechs can also work collaboratively with traditional financial providers, sharing data and case studies to prove the benefits of inclusivity. It’s not just a moral imperative—it’s a business advantage. Inclusive practices lead to stronger customer relationships, open up new markets, and ultimately drive growth. By setting an example, fintechs can inspire traditional providers to follow suit, proving that inclusivity is both achievable and profitable.”
Biometric potential
Biometric smart cards can help bridge gaps for people with visual or cognitive disabilities says Catharina Eklof, CEO of IDEX Biometrics.
Catharina Eklöf, chief commercial officer at IDEX Biometrics.
“Biometric smart cards can bridge this gap for people with visual or cognitive disabilities worldwide and who deserve to feel secure, included, and independent. Biometric smart cards work by attaching a person’s card to their identity. A card can only be used for a transaction via the one owner’s fingerprints. The data is encrypted and stored within the card itself, removing any additional fear of data being lost via a centralised breach or large-scale hack.
“PINs present an obvious security issue for those with visual or cognitive disabilities, with others able to oversee their inputs and then manipulate them. Contactless payments go some way to solving that problem but pose the risk of fraud as there is no PIN verification below the increasing threshold amount, now at £100 in the UK. Many accounts also require visual-based inputs to prove identity, such as CAPTCHA, proving as a barrier for the visually impaired.
“Including tactile markers on cards is a crucial step for people with visual disabilities. This is also implemented on biometrics smart cards, with sensor textures guiding the user. These cards provide convenience, inclusivity, and security by linking a person’s identity to their fingerprints, encrypted within the card itself, reducing data breach concerns.
“IDEX Biometrics is collaborating with innovative banks, fintechs, and interest organisations operating at the forefront of inclusivity and social engagement. As a global technology solution provider, we are eager to increase impact through continued partnerships.”
Open sourcing innovation
Making innovation technology open-source would go a long way to helping make traditional financial providers more inclusive, according to Chris Chabot, VP developer relations at Shardeum, an auto-scaling layer 1 blockchain ecosystem.
“The key solution to ensuring underserved communities are empowered by fintechs is making their technology open-source. This means that entrepreneurs and innovators can contribute to fintech technology wherever they are based in the world, and gain financial benefit.
“In developing countries, there is limited access to financial resources providing a lack of funding and entrepreneurship spaces. Meanwhile, there can be severe limitations on internet services, for example, India had more internet blackouts in seven years than all other countries combined. These challenges hinder individuals in emerging markets to fully participate in the digital economy, further exacerbating inequalities and perpetuating marginalisation.
“The mindset for fintech is understanding that providing service to marginalized communities is one thing, but empowering them to contribute to the innovation and economic potential of fintech platforms is far more powerful.
“Open-source doesn’t discriminate against marginalised communities, it values the best contributions. It creates a meritocratic ecosystem accessible to everyone, everywhere – not just in Silicon Valley.”
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